Jacque Vaughn Proud Despite Nets' Narrow Miss in In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals

Vaughn remains generally happy about what the Nets' demonstrated with the help of In-Season Cup.

© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The road to the quarterfinal round of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament quarterfinals came up a bit short for the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. 

Amid taking down the Toronto Raptors, 115-103, the Nets’ point differential still wasn't enough to match what the Boston Celtics did to top Group C and the New York Knicks’ entry as a wild-card team.

Despite the shortcomings, head coach Jacque Vaughn couldn't be more proud of how his team was able to put up a solid contest and continue their growth as the 2023-24 season progresses.

A failed but constructive rally

In the postgame, Vaughn narrated the talk he had with his staff about trying to surpass the Celtics in terms of point differential during the final frame. Although they came up short, Vaughn is still delighted about the Nets’ effort by taking the victory over the Raptors.

“When it was 100-108, I ended up asking: Where do we stand? We were thinking about continuing to score. … Our guys knew we needed 15 points. They kept playing. That would’ve been a heartbreaker, that last three at the end, but then they told me ‘Boston won by 40’ or whatever, so it was over with. But I can use it as a coach. Our guys played like last possession so this is good.”

Jacque Vaughn on Royce O'Neale's performance:

"He just continues to do it and continues to be an unbelievable teammate. He's a person I love coaching... When he gets the opportunity he takes advantage of it, and boy did he make some timely shots for us tonight.” pic.twitter.com/BtArYOw0a5

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) November 29, 2023

More room for growth

In the end, Vaughn considers their failure to reach the knockout stage as a blessing in disguise.

With the victory, Brooklyn is now back again to over .500 win rate with a 9-8 record. The head coach also sees promise and growth around his squad's capabilities in responding to adversities and challenges.

“These are opportunities for us to get better and how to manage the game. I think we are really good — Gary Trent Jr. made some pull-up jumpers and we didn't panic with that. We stayed with our coverage, he ended up missing some and we ended up rebounding the basketball. The shot profile that we wanted at the end of the game manifested into a win for us," Vaughn said.

"Those are the opportunities where again, just like the first quarter in the [Chicago Bulls comeback] game where we don't panic as a team, we find solutions and guys really stay with it tonight,” he concluded.

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